United States
GHLI conducts research on health care quality inside the U.S., including research to improve health outcomes for patients with heart attacks and to identify organizational factors associated with high quality hospital and hospice care.
To untangle the complexity of U.S. hospital systems, GHLI pioneered the use of a mixed-methods approach (combining qualitative and quantitative research methods) to positive deviance research. Positive deviance research focuses on identifying practices most associated with top performance in health care facilities and understanding how they are adopted in a particular group or community. This approach has revealed hospital practices associated with faster treatment for heart attack patients, better rates of survival and reduced hospital readmissions.
In the U.S., GHLI researchers worked closely with the American College of Cardiology and Institute of Healthcare Improvement to roll-out and evaluate quality alliances that improve care for patients with heart attacks. The Door-to-Balloon Alliance brought together hospitals from across the country to reduce delays between hospital arrival and life-saving treatment. The Hospital-to-Home quality improvement initiative is focused on reducing cardiovascular-related hospital readmissions and improving the transition from inpatient to outpatient status for individuals hospitalized with cardiovascular disease.
